Sheffield open up in second half and Cougars suffer home defeat

Eagles opened the scoring when Pat Walker produced a superb offload close to the line which put in team-mate Duane Straugheir.

Cougars hit back as Jones put up a banana kick, with the bounce bamboozling Dominic Brambani in goal leading to Scott Law touching down between the sticks.

The visitors quickly retook the lead, though. Straugheir broke clear down the right edge and played in Quentin Laulu-Togagae to cross.

They then extended their advantage further. Walker once again providing the assist, this time offloading to Michael Knowles, who crossed.

Sheffield came out flying in the second half with two tries in the opening five minutes.

Firstly Laula-Togagae and Menzie Yere combined out wide to send in Scott Turner.

Yere then went in for a try of his own after speeding away when picking up a loose pass for the score.

Keighley kept their slim hopes alive with Josh Lynam latching onto Jack Lee’s speculative kick. But that was as close as they got with the Eagles then breaking clear when Laula-Togagae got his second of the day shortly after.

Yere then pulled an outrageous pass from behind his back out of the bag to send in Walker for the score.

Andy Shickell barged over to restore a slim chance of a bonus point, but Matt Garside’s 70th-minute score ended that hope.

However Scott Law did manage to secure some pride late on with a final-minute try.

Keighley Cougars: Jesse Sheriffe; Barnett, Cosgrove, Lawton, White; Jones, Handforth, Shickell, Haigh, Hesketh, Lynam, Rawlins, Law. Substitutes: Jode Sheriffe, Cherryholme, Lee, Peltier.

Sheffield Eagles: Laulu-Togagae; Turner, Yere, Straugheir, Taulapapa; Walker, Brambani; Lillycrop, Owen, Stringer, Knowles, Green, Hope. Substitutes: Tagaloa, Davey, Garside, Burke, Esposito.

Referee: D Merrick (RFL).


Gloucestershire All Golds recorded a 28-20 Championship One win over Gateshead Thunder.